Paul Yep begins to lead the San Francisco Police Department as Acting Chief overseeing the situation of anti-ICE protests

SAN FRANCISCO — Paul Yep began to lead the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) as Acting Chief on June 7, 2025. On the next day, June 8, a protest took place outside the ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) building in San Francisco against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement to arrest undocumented immigrants. Three police officers were injured and 148 people were arrested in the demonstration.

Yep was appointed by Mayor Daniel Lurie in May to serve as an interim Police Chief after Bill Scott announced his departure from the SFPD as Police Chief. Scott will return to Southern California to lead the newly-formed Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Public Safety Department on June 23.

Yep started serving as Acting Chief and later Interim Chief of SFPD for about six months to a year.

In 2023, Yep took an early retirement from the SFPD where he spent 28 years serving in wide range of positions including Commander of the Risk Control Unit and Captain of three police stations, Richmond, Central, and Northern stations.

During the first week as the Acting Chief, Yep said he would interview leaders within the SFPD while he would work hard to ensure the safety of all communities in the city.

Yep planned to first reorganize the leadership in the SFPD on the ranks of Command Staff and Captains to meet the needs of all communities in the city and make changes for the upcoming fiscal year on the SFPD’s budget.

Since Yep has assumed his official duty as Acting Chief, the first major public gathering activity that he was in charge to oversee was the anti-ICE protest in the downtown of San Francisco in the evening on June 8.

The protest was organized by the immigrant community in the city to voice their anger on Trump’s immigration enforcement and stand in solidarity with their counterparts in Los Angeles that began with massive demonstrations on June 6.

The anti-ICE protests against Trump’s immigration raids have since spread to almost 40 cities, New York City, Seattle, Las Vegas and St. Louis, and over 20 states across the nation.

In the first press conference since Yep officially has served as Acting Chief, Yep announced the details of the June 8 anti-ICE protest in San Francisco which was declared by the SFPD an unlawful assembly.

Yep, along with Mayor Daniel Lurie, heads of the city’s public safety agencies and departments, said in the press conference that keeping the city safe was his number one focus. He spent the entire day on his first day in charge of SFPD and all weekend coordinating with Lurie and public safety leaders for developing a plan to ensure the city was ready for anything that might happen.

“Unfortunately, what began as First Amendment activity turned into violence and property destruction,” said Yep. “Individuals are always free to exercise their constitutional rights, but let me be clear, violence and property destruction will never be tolerated in San Francisco. Our residents and our businesses deserve to live in a safe city.”

“Thanks to our planning, we were prepared. When members of the crowd began committing vandalism, destroying property, and committing assaults, we declared an unlawful assembly to gain control of the situation at Sansom and Washington Streets throughout the night,” Yep said. “On multiple occasions, officers made arrests.”

According to the information released by the SFPD, the protest occurred at 7pm on June 8 in the area of Sansom and Washington streets where the ICE building is located. Some individuals in the group became violent and committed crimes from assaults to vandalism that led to property damages.

After the SFPD declared an unlawful assembly, some individuals remained and continued engaging in illegal activity. The remaining group later moved towards Market and Kearny streets where individuals vandalized buildings and an SFPD patrol vehicle.

Two officers suffered non-life threatening injuries and one was transported to a local hospital for further medical assistance. Yep said the officers faced numerous attacks during the protest and violence. “This kind of violence against our officers is unacceptable.”

A total of 148 arrests were made in the entire protest including a group of 60 individuals who refused to disperse on the 200 block Montgomery Street. Among them 6 were juveniles. About half of the 148 arrests were the city’s residents and the other half lived outside of San Francisco.

Yep said 147 people were cited and released after the arrests. One individual was arrested for a felony. Officers recovered one firearm at the scene.

“I also want our immigrant communities to know that we are committed to building trust with you. Immigrant enforcement is the federal government’s job. It is not the responsibility of the SFPD,” said Yep.

“San Francisco has a long standing sanctuary city ordinance that generally prohibits officers from participating in immigration enforcement. Additionally, our policies require officers that follow the law and generally prohibit the use of city resources to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” Yep added. “However, violence and property destruction are a separate matter.”

The next day in the evening of June 9, more anti-ICE protests were held in Civic Center and the area of 24th Street in the Mission neighborhoods.

Thousands of people participated in demonstrations on June 9 which were overwhelmingly peaceful, according to SFPD. Two small groups broke off and committed vandalism and other criminal acts at the very end of the night. Officers detained multiple individuals who refused to comply and made arrests.

Mayor Lurie said he has been working closely with Yep, public safety partners and city departments overseeing a coordinated effort to keep our city safe.

“Everyone in this country has a right to make their voice heard peacefully, and local law enforcement will always protect that right and the rights of everyone in our city to be safe,” said Lurie. “But we will never tolerate violent and destructive behavior, and as crowds dwindled, a group that remained caused injuries to police officers, vandalized Muni vehicles, and broke windows of local businesses.”

Lurie assured the immigrant community and said, “I understand why people are out in the streets, and I know there is fear in our communities. As mayor, I will always ensure we protect your right to protest peacefully—and your right to be safe.”